MOTION 1
Motion – Honoraria
The Branch proposes to pay Honoraria to the Treasurer, the sum of £1281.43 to recognise the work carried out on behalf of the branch over the past year.
The branch would like to thank the Treasurer for all the hard work over the year.
Proposer: Branch Committee
Motion – Cuts and Political Strategy
This AGM condemns the draconian Cuts to Local Government funding throughout Britain. Cutting the Vital Health and Health Promotion Services we provide. Our services are vital for the health and wellbeing of the Country and to cut funding and therefore services will lead to a decline in living standards and the health of the nation.
UNISON and Public Sector Workers are ambassadors for our services and we must work together to fight these cuts in every way possible.
UNISON believes that a coordinated political strategy is the only way to fight for our services along with local campaigning with individual local Authorities and other campaign groups.
Therefore the AGM calls on the branch to:-
- Raise the profile of Local Government Services
- Campaign for a fairer funding regime for Councils
- To engage with and confront politicians at all levels, Councillors, MP’s MSP’s etc.
- To develop alternative strategies to cuts in the financial management of the Council
To achieve this we will:-
- Campaign for no compulsory redundancies within Aberdeenshire Council
- To build Local and Scottish Anti Cuts Campaigns
- To involve all our members and promote actions that can be taken
- To continue to highlight to the Public the Services that we provide and the impact of the Cuts.
Proposer: Branch Committee
Motion – Anti Trade Union Bill Campaign
This AGM believes that the Trade Union Bill is the Anti Trade Union Bill. It is a direct attack on workers’ right to join a union and to be represented in negotiations over pay, working hours, holiday leave, sickness cover, pensions, and workplace conditions.
This bill would require your Branch Officers to submit regular reports to a new Government regulator on how they represent you. Failure to provide this information on time would result in the Officers being fined between £2,000 and £20,000.
This bill would legitimise black listing allowing the new Government regulator to pass your personal details on to third parties such as private sector employers and employment agencies.
This bill lays down draconian requirements for industrial action ballots and allows employers to bring in agency staff to replace existing staff where there is a workplace dispute.
This bill would also allow the relevant UK Government Minister to monitor and require an explanation from public sector employers like Aberdeenshire Council as to why they are spending time meeting and negotiating with you and your workplace representatives.
Aberdeenshire Council and COSLA have responded to campaigning by the branch and UNISON Scotland and have condemned the Anti Trade Union Bill. The Scottish Government has also condemned the Anti Trade Union Bill. However the UK Government is still trying to push through this Bill and the assistance of every trade union member is needed to campaign against it.
This AGM calls on all the members of this branch to take part in the campaigning to persuade the UK Government not to continue legislating for the Anti-Trade Union.
It calls on UNISON to use the negotiating and bargaining machinery within Aberdeenshire Council, COSLA and the Scottish Government to press for the Anti Trade Union Bill not to be enacted in Scotland.
Proposer: Branch Committee
Motion – Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
UNISON welcomed the requirement for Social Service staff to be regulated. However for some time now we have been concerned about how the SSSC Codes of Practice are being used by employers and the absence of any systems to hold employers accountable for meeting their Codes of Practice.
We have also been concerned at how the SSSC itself investigates individuals who are alleged to have breached their Codes of Practice. UNISON has represented many members in this situation and we have been appalled at the approach of the SSSC, often with what seems to be a “guilty until proven innocent” attitude; the length of time the SSSC can take; and the anxiety that creates for our members.
As more and more groups of staff require to be registered the number of our members coming under investigation by SSSC is likely to increase.
Through the Social Work Issues Group, UNISON Scotland has been advocating for changes to how the SSSC operates. UNISON also has a Professional Services Unit (PSU) which advises on matters relating to regulatory bodies and which passes Scottish cases to Thompson’s Solicitors to represent individual members at conduct hearings.
This AGM believes that all workers who are regulated need the protection and support of a trade union. It pledges, as individual members, to spread the word amongst social service colleagues about the importance of being a member of a trade union. It calls on the branch to:
- Do all it can to ensure that all our members who are registered with the SSSC are aware that they should come to the union immediately if they are being investigated by the SSSC for any reason.
- Take steps to inform non-members registered with the SSSC of the importance of trade union membership for support and advice should they become subject to investigation by SSSC.
- Make sure that stewards are trained to support members who are under investigation by SSSC, and know when to pass on cases to the Regional Organiser and the PSU.
Proposer: Branch Committee
Motion – Administration of medications and medical procedures.
This AGM raises major concerns over the continued expectation for Local Government employees to administrate medications or carry out increasingly invasive medical procedures by our members supporting young and older people.
Our current advice is that administration of medications or medical procedures should only be supported by our members if they choose to do so voluntarily with the correct accredited training and healthcare support. UNISON have been monitoring the situation over the past couple of years and concluded that this is no longer a viable option. Our members are finding it increasingly difficult to carry out care across education and the care sector without some form of medication or medical procedure being put upon them.
Local Government are facing huge cuts to services, yet NHS Scotland will see an increase to their budget which will be ring-fenced. This being the case it is time that we put a stop to healthcare on the cheap within Local Government, which is putting our members and vulnerable people at risk. It is time to demand that through ‘shared services’ any administration of medications and medical procedures are carried out by fully trained, experienced Healthcare professionals across all Aberdeenshire settings.
This AGM calls on the branch to:
- Start a campaign, locally and nationally to call for appropriate provision of healthcare staff to carry out Administration of Medications or Medical Procedures within Local Government settings.
- To take our motion to National Delegate Conference calling for the LGSGE to:
- Campaign to put a stop to voluntary administration of medications and medical procedures within Local Government.
- Negotiate with our NEC and healthcare colleagues to access appropriate provision for administration of medications and medical procedures with Local Government settings.
Proposer: Branch Committee